Haliburton

Really interested to follow this one Dave. I've been interested in Kotare and I'm hoping they bring some other kits out soon having only recently built a spitfire. I'm definitely in.

I’m in! 🥤🍿👍😊

Interesting company, coming out of WKW. I'll be following your build.

The introductory pictures of this kit are very promising (indeed, the instruction booklet reminds a lot the style of the WnW's). In addition, a Spitfire cannot be missed.
Cheers,
Dan

Thanks guys, I'm at my daughter's in Buffalo seeing a specialist, will update you when I get back home.  

Nope ! Those the out of box Tamiya tracks, which unlike other kit model tracks don't disintegrate after 5-10 years. 

In anticipation of possibly doing a diorama I did pick up two cliff rock face rubber molds by Woodland Scenics. Incredible detail in these molds. 
 

That will be sweet!  Definitely go for the diorama if you can.  

For now I'm calling Walker tank #1 complete.  I decided to hold off on weathering and/or camouflage until I decide on how I want to display it and the Walker tank #2 kit build is completed. But both will have to wait a while until after I deal with a medical issue that just cropped up unexpectedly. 
 
Note to Moderators: This build log is NOT FINISHED YET, only part 1 of 2 is finished.  And there is a possibility of a diorama to be added to this build thread.  
 
The Walker tank model #1:
 

My son found this in a shed at a work site and was told he could have it.  I spent some time sanding with emery cloth to get all the rust out.  I used a small wire brush in my Dremel to get into the deeper pitting. Then it was onto some Gun Bluing and oil.  The handle was done with sand paper and WOP.  I think it turned out ok.

Here is a pristine body fresh out of the factory sealed plastic bag. There are two areas of interest I would like to point out. First notice there are three “gills” located directly behind the rear wheel well openings. The plastic body directly behind these gills should be thinned down by sanding and filing, then the gills be opened up so you can see through with some fine mesh wire attached to the back side. Next in the second photo, notice that mid-way in the rocker panel underneath the door is a small indention. This should also be opened up with fine screen mesh on the back side as these are air scoops to help cool brakes and turbochargers. 
I was not aware of this until after I painted my car body, so I may take this opportunity to correct this oversight now, then paint and use this fresh new body on my model. 
 

Hi Mike
I am jealous that you have taken your JRS-1 out and started building it. ALas mine, like all of my other stash and flying boats is sitting neglected and lonely.
 
That has not stopped me from doing some research now and then though. I would have probably kept the original wheels as the plain surface and lack of any real details in the real aircraft wells is very obvious even though possibly less interesting.
 
I saw a mention in a prior post about the cabin layouts. According to the only cut-a-way drawings I have been able to find these sections are the cockpit, with the bulkhead opening to the rear of the aircraft. 
 
Just to the rear of that bulkhead is the 'Stewards/mail" cabin. on the port side just behind the pilot the steward has a chair that sits against the outside hull and I believe folds down. This is so that it can be used as a stepping platform when the crew uses the top portside hatch to enter the aircraft. Next aft on the portside is the mail locker that coule possibly also serve as a table for food or drinks? Just aft of that the remaining portside space is taken up with the head that extends to the next bulkhead just in front of the landing gear section. The starboard section of this compartment is identified as baggage compartment, even though it appears to consist of lower storage, counter top and upper compartmented cabinets. The winow ports on that side have slatted covers in the drawings.
 
Next are the two bulkheads that enclose the foward and aft area of the wheel gear area and could possibly also provide limited access to the wing root from within. It appears that only the forward bulkhead had a door but that one looks to be a watertight door. 
 
Next is the main passenger cabin that had seating for 11 passengers with two seats on the starboard and one on the port with the last seats aft being single.
The aft cabin bulkhead opens into the forth compartment just forward of the rudder. This compartment is labled as the "Smoking" pasenger compartment and has two seats facing aft on each side of the forward bulkhead and two facing forward at each corner of the aft bulkhead with the collapsible companion way between them.
 
This is clearly the civilian configuration of the S-43 and I would think the military JRS-1 would have had differences, but I have not been able to find anything to date.
 
Really looking forward to seeing your results on this aircraft Mike. It is looking great so far.

Next up will be the Kotare Spitfire Mk.Ia.  I usually build my world war 2 planes in 1/48, but have been really happy with the wingnut wings kits and wanted to try Kotare, which is the company that some of the WNW designers and engineers moved to when WNW folded.  I got a good deal on it at the local IPMS show in February.  I will build the AC Deere "Kiwi" plane because I like the kiwi on the side and the black and white underside.  Given the quality of the kit, I don't plan much in the way of aftermarket.  I got the HGW seatbelts because I like them a lot more than photoetch and eduard masks because trying to mask canopies drives me up a wall.  I'm also going to try some camouflage masks.  Will probably be a little time before I make any progress - I have some work and family stuff coming up and want to make some progress on the two boats I'm working on.
 

Coming Soon

Latest Update: Blocking out the Transmission....
 
Left side...

Right side...

In the frame mounted to the Differential case... Left side upper and lower angles....

Now I'm ready to add the details....
 
Stay tuned my friends...
 
Onwards...

Thank you Mike... It's appreciated....
 
Well another minor setback, my initial design doesn't work, everything that needs to be there won't fit.... and it's basic fitment, the detail HAS to be there and reworking the current design just didn't cut it, it was becoming even more convoluted a mess trying to fix the original so I decided to start fresh, take the best parts of the original and adjust to what needs to be as I go....
 
this is where I stopped adding detail and re-evaluated...

The Real deal...

That is from a 1911 Marmon Speedster The one below is the Marmon Wasp....

What was before....

And what is now with the added changes....

Yep the differences are subtle, but they make all the difference when fitting details where they need to be... And, like almost always, it is close to the finish when this issue pops up... But such is the life of a design draughtsman....
 
RE-starting the detail design part now.... {chuckle}
 
Onwards Brothers, onwards....

Well, I've gotten the Transmission to where I'm going to call it done.... Might still need some tweaking as other parts are added... But we will do those if any when we get there...
 
Here is what she looks like...
 

And with the axle/differential....

The yellow is for glamor purposes... {chuckle}
 
In the frame...

I would say she is 95% accurate, there were still a few spots without enough coverage to be sure, but a lot of hints to what had to be there...
 
Anyway I'm calling it done for now...
 
And the usual overall shot...

Onwards!!!
 

Full Metal Beam Engine Steam Engine (RETROL)
EngineDIY
Catalogue # 33ED3487709
Available from EngineDIY for USD $299.99
 

 
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall. The efficiency of the engines was improved by engineers including James Watt, who added a separate condenser; Jonathan Hornblower and Arthur Woolf, who compounded the cylinders; and William McNaught, who devised a method of compounding an existing engine. Beam engines were first used to pump water out of mines or into canals but could be used to pump water to supplement the flow for a waterwheel powering a mill. They also could be used to power steam ships.

 
The first steam-powered ships used variants of the rotative beam engine. These marine steam engines – known as side-lever, grasshopper, crosshead, or 'walking beam', among others – all varied from the original land-based machines by locating the beam or beams in different positions to take up less room on board ship.
 
The kit

This steam engine kit comes in quite an anonymous and thick gauge cardboard box with absolutely no label! The box itself is reasonably heavy too, weighing in at just under 2kg. Lifting that lid off immediately shows the colour printed instruction sheets which are sat on a sheet of foam which protects the two trays of parts underneath.

This kit contains 84 parts, inclusive of screws etc. All parts are sat in foam cutouts which provide excellent protection for the assemblies and parts. I say assemblies, because I see this as more of a semi-kit in that a number of elements are pre-built, and the idea is to assemble these to the individual parts, which are all then mounted on a metal base.


A number of the parts are in plastic sleeves. These are the ones made from stainless steel, and are for building the boiler's mounting chassis,  and also the fuel/igniter tray. 

Work starts on mounting a number of parts to a metal stand-off frame which will eventually mount to the main plinth. This includes the piston mount/condensation block, and the column for the cross beam. Hex keys are provided for the bolts, as well as a spanner with various sized jaws for various nuts etc.



This assembly can now be mounted to the main plinth. This is done via a series of brass stand-offs. I'll also now fit the two fly wheel mounts.

All screws are tightened up except for those holding the brackets. I decided to make sure I align the drive shaft through them before properly tightening up.

This is the cross beam, and one of the number of pre-built assemblies in this model. This is composted of cast and turned brass, plus stainless steel. You can see the piston plunger on the right of the image.

This is now fitted to the column using a small grub screw to secure. I ddi apply a little lubricating oil into the piston chamber first and then made sure the beam would move freely, pulling the piston up and down. A separate sheet of instructions gives tips on how to achieve this. If not done correctly, this is about the only area which will cause enough friction to stop the engine from running freely. I found I needed to do a little adjustment of the base of the beam. That's why you can see an adjustment hole underneath this, in the main plinth. The idea is that once the piston is raised, it will drop into the piston cylinder due to gravity.

This drive arm is now lubricated and slid into the base of the piston block, and the two bearings are interred into the outside of each of the brackets. Notice the larger end isn't yet engaged into anything and is sat on the bracket simply for the photo opportunity!


You could say this is one of the main events...the fly wheel. This beautifully machines piece of aluminium will now be fitted between the two bearings, via that drive shaft. Flats are machined onto this so the grub screws have a proper surface to fasten to. 


The opposite side of the drive arm is now engaged into the drive shaft and a grub screw used to tighten up to the machined flat on the shaft. 

The drive wheel can now also be secured to the drive shaft via a grub screw. A small collar is used to help space the components.


This is the beam link which will connect the beam to the flywheel drive shaft. The brass fastener has a reverse screw thread which secures into the drive arm.


This beautiful little assembly is the centrifugal regulator. The lowest bolt needs to be removed from the unit and reattached from the underside of the plinth, along with the smaller bolt you can see here. Pushing the small brass linkage downwards will force the two balanced wheels outwards. This is what will happen when pressure is pushed through the brass block that you can see midway down the assembly.

A small length of silicone tube is used to link the centrifugal regulator to the condensate box/piston chamber.

Lastly, for this section, a silicone drive belt is applied between the centrifugal regulator and the fly wheel.

The boiler sits atop a stainless housing which doubles as the heat box for the boiler. The first side is fitted, via two brass shafts which also help reinforce the assembly, as well as create mounting points for the boiler securing straps.



The box is now complete, with the scalloped side towards the top, and the square cutout as shown. The latter is to accommodate the fuel tray.

This really is a very nice piece of engineering, mostly from machined brass. I remember the boilers from the Mamod steam engines, and I can vouch that there are flimsier than this, and that had soldered joints. This is a far superior unit. 

The boiler is now fitted and secured. The protruding outlet pipe is connected to the centrifugal regulator via a length of silicone tubing.

The steam engine itself is now complete.




These parts assemble to create the fuel tray. This contains a tray into which the fuel (methylated spirits, IDA etc) will be poured. The 'wick' units which create a chamber from where the fuel vapours emit, are then plugged into the tray and then the cap is fitted. This creates a shield which closes off the fuel chamber from the outside world. 




The underside of the piston block has that condensation pipe. This little tray will sit underneath that whilst in operation. 

Instructions
These are quite sparse in text, with quite a lot of Chinese present, but the illustrations themselves are enough to easily build this steam engine. 





 
With the engine complete, we can now give it a test. First, the safety valve needs to be unscrewed and then water added. I do this with a syringe. First you need to open the valve at the front of the boiler, or the water will just leak from the injection point, as you add it. I found that about 60ml of water was enough for this. I also added about 10ml to 12ml of methylated spirits to the fuel tray and then lit the burner. The boiler took just a few minutes to come to pressure. The flywheel began to rotate slowly, so I gave it a gentle push and off it went!


 
 
 
 
 
 
Conclusion
Firstly, I have to say that this is a delightful little steam engine that is both easy to understand and build. This took me a little over 90 minutes to build, inclusive of taking the unedited photos. The quality of parts really is excellent, which is what you need when you are dabbling with a miniature boiler unit and the pressures within. The overall feel of the kit and the finished model is one of quality. All I would suggest is adding a little lube in areas such as the piston and gearing in the centrifugal regulator etc. When you compare the beautiful finished model here, compared with the current Mamod models which are pre-built and cost over a £100 more than this, then I consider this to be excellent value for money. It will also make a wonderful cabinet display piece too, which is exactly where mine will be heading. 
 
My sincere thanks to EngineDIY for sending out this kit for review on Model Ship World. To buy direct, click the link in the header of this topic.
 
 
 

An easy day today.
I finished the weathering on the hull and conning tower.

 
I just realised that I forgot the air vents on the side air tanks (all 34 of them!).
Better get started now!

 
An hour later and they're on.

Cheers,
 

It's coming together! (Thanks for all the likes and comments)
 
Yesterday I added decals to the hull and conning tower, using "Tamiya Mark Fit'. Tricky because of the debth decal sizes but I am very pleased as they look great.

 
The next job was to nervously start the weathering. I mixed two rust colours using a combination of Vallejo German Orange, Artesania Latina Hull Red, Royal Blue and Deep Yellow. The colours are ok, but I think I want to add a black, grey or brown wash to give an overall aging appearance and play down the possibly excessive weathering on the port side air tanks.

 
A Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (of 1/1 Black/Grey) also added a little extra but is not very noticeable. I think the straight black would be too dark.


 
Cheers, Peter
 
 
 

Another great day!
I had fun with kit and aftermarket 'tubes'. The fit required cutting and sanding but it did work out. (The black one is for engine exhaust, and the grey one is an air intake.) The underside parts of the deck were then added. I started on the coning tower and dry fitted it to the deck to check the fit. Obviously it isn't weathered yet, maybe tomorrow. I'm happy with the look of the deck so it may not be long before I glue it onto the hull (ok Javelin?😉). Cheers,

Greetings!
 
Whenever I order stuff from Poland, I like to max out the order that can be sent at a certain shipping price point. That means that for my last order from WAK, received just this week, I was able to slip WAK's latest release into my cart. It's a Salmson 2 A.2, a French two-seat observation plane used in the last year of the Great War. First Squadron of the US Air Service also operated the type.
 

 
The kit is designed by Maciej Lewan and features very nice artwork done by Marcin Dworzecki.
 

 

 
A little skimpy on the diagrams, but hopefully enough to get the job done.
 

 

 
Of course I also ordered the requisite laser-cut frames . . .
 

 
. . . as well as a pair of resin Lewis guns for the observer's twin mounting.
 

 
Okay, so you might be wondering why I decided to start this build when I just finished the Hurricane and had started back on Phoenix. Well, I'll tell you why. I blame this wholly on WAK. I checked the inside front cover to see if there was any information about the aircraft depicted in the kit, and there I saw the following (in English, no less):
 

 
Yup, the plane was "piloted by A.J. Coyle."
 
That did it. Hot new release . . . chance to be one of the first to build it . . . pilot with the same surname as myself (and it's not a common one) . . . the kit fairly screamed "build me NOW!"
 
So I caved. BTW, I have not yet been able to determine if Capt. Coyle and I are distant relatives, but I have an extensive family tree, and he's not in it, so I suspect we are not. Oh, well.
 

Capt. Arthur J. Coyle (standing), with Lt. A.E. Easterbrook. Anonymous unknown author, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
 
I may try to build this concurrently with Phoenix, or I might not. I'll just have to see how it plays out. Plus, I have another project on my radar. 😬  So many projects, so little time!!
 
Cheers!

The cranes for the stern. These where a right pain. Attaching the sides to the jibs was so finicky. And three of them didn't have the small tabs used as guides. And one had the front part damaged. 
I have gone with the jewellers wire for the lifting cable. I am also displaying them flat instead of the 45°raised angle suggested in the instructions. I don't like raised look and much prefer them this way. They are roughly in their finished position.
Now need to add all the fittings that I have painted  ready to be added to the stern before gluing them in place. Then the docking bridge and onto the boat deck detailing. 

Inching closer to a finish...
 
 

Well, it’s been a while since my last update. Lots of things going on in my household - including an open house for the happy occasion of my mother’s 90th birthday 🎂.  I’ve found this build to be challenging because of the small parts and the instructions being less clear than I’d like. The bevelled edges that need to be glued are also a bit tricky to stabilize as the glue sets.   Here’s a photo of my current progress. Thanks for looking in, Scott